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Speeding Tickets

According to Statistic Brain, the online platform and community focused on statistics and analytics, an average of 112,000 drivers a day get speeding tickets, resulting in $6.232 billion in fines paid for speeding. Only five percent of speeding tickets are contested in court by the alleged offenders.

Many people assume that paying the fine relating to speeding tickets is the only way to resolve the matter, but individuals do have the right to contest the validity of a ticket.

Depending on the circumstances, an alleged offender's speeding may have been justified because of an emergency situation or he or she may be able to challenge the accuracy of the speed measured by the officer.

Lawyer for Speeding Tickets in Florida

If you were issued a speeding ticket anywhere in the Miami metropolitan area, it will be in your best interest to retain legal counsel before paying any fine. Meltzer & Bell, P.A. defends clients accused of moving violations in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and several surrounding areas of South Florida.

Fort Lauderdale traffic ticket attorneys  will fight to help you avoid fines, points on your driving record, and requirements to attend traffic school.

You can have our lawyers review your case and help you understand all of your legal options as soon as you call (561) 500-5000 to receive a free initial consultation.

Speeding Tickets Information Center

• How much can a person be ordered to pay for a speeding ticket in Florida?
• When might evidence in speeding cases be inadmissible in court?
• Where can I learn more about speeding tickets in Broward County?

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Speeding Ticket Fines in Florida

Florida Statute § 316.183 establishes that no person can drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing.

Speeding tickets are noncriminal traffic infractions, and the possible fines that may be imposed can vary depending on the location of the alleged offense as well as the number of miles per hour (MPH) by which the alleged offender exceeded the posted speed limit.

In South Florida, an individual can face the following fines for speeding tickets that are the following amounts over posted speed limits:

When alleged offenses occur in school zones, toll facilities, or construction zones with workers or equipment present, fines may be increased as follows:

Under Florida Statute § 316.1926, a person who exceeds the speed limit in excess of 50 MPH or more will be cited for a moving violation, which is punishable under Florida Statute § 318.14 by a fine of up to $1,000.

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Evidence of Florida Speeding Violations

Florida Statute § 316.1906 establishes provisions relating to the admissibility of radar speed-measuring devices evidence. Under Florida Statute § 316.1906(1)(e), the term radar is defined as "law enforcement speed radar, any laser-based or microwave-based speed-measurement system employed by a law enforcement agency to detect the speed of motorists."

Florida Statute § 316.1906(2) states that evidence of the speed of a vehicle measured by any radar speed-measuring device will be inadmissible in any proceeding with respect to an alleged violation of provisions of law regulating the lawful speed of vehicles, unless such evidence of speed is obtained by an officer who:

• Has satisfactorily completed the radar training course established by the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission pursuant to Florida Statute § 943.17(1)(b);

• Has made an independent visual determination that the vehicle is operating in excess of the applicable speed limit;

• Has written a citation based on evidence obtained from radar when conditions permit the clear assignment of speed to a single vehicle;

• Is using radar which has no automatic speed locks and no audio alarms, unless disconnected or deactivated;

• Is operating radar with audio Doppler engaged; or

• Is using a radar unit which meets the minimum design criteria for such units established by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

If an electronic or mechanical speed measuring device was used to issue the speeding ticket, then the officer must list the following information on the body of the citation:

• the proper statute number;
• the type of measuring device; and
• the manufacturer’s serial number.

Types of Speeding Tickets in Florida

Florida law provides for several different types of speeding tickets which each have a different standard fine schedule including:

• Speeding 6-9 MPH
• Speeding 10-14 MPH
• Speeding 15-19 MPH
• Speeding 20-29 MPH
• Speeding 30 MPH and over
• Speeding in School/Construction zone 1-5 MPH
• Speeding in School/Construction zone 6-9 MPH
• Speeding in School/Construction zone 10-14 MPH
• Speeding in School/Construction zone 15-19 MPH
• Speeding in School/Construction zone 20-29 MPH
• Speeding in School/Construction zone >= 30 MPH

Changes to Traffic Court Rules for Speeding Tickets

Effective January 1, 2010, Traffic Court Rules changed to require more information about speeding violations to be recorded on a Uniform Traffic Citation (UTC). An amendment to Traffic Court Rule 6.445 requires law enforcement officers to write down the type of speed measurement device used.

For instance, the officer is now required to write on the speeding ticket the type of measuring device used such as radar, laser or pace clock. The officer must also list the unit number when writing a speeding violation on a Uniform Traffic Citation (UTC).

If the officer who writes the speeding ticket does not comply with this requirement, the traffic ticket attorney can move to dismiss the citation. The required information must be written in the “Comments Section” of the UTC. For example, the officer could write:

• Radar 90665 (serial #);
• Laser 12912 (serial #);
• Pace Clock, tag# FHP 152; or
• Aircraft Stopwatch 26590 (serial #).

Discovery Rule 6.445 in Florida's Traffic Court

Officers in traffic court usually don't have to worry about providing discovery to the defense attorney because Criminal Procedure Rule 3.220, which allows the defense to participate in the discovery process, does not apply to civil infractions.

Rule 6.445 of the Florida Rules of Traffic Court, however, provides a special discovery rule that applies to speeding ticket cases that use an electronic or mechanical speed measuring device.

Under this rule, the officer must include within the body of the citation the type of device and the manufacturer's serial number. Also, if the officer has any relevant supporting documentation regarding such device is in the officer's possession at the time of trial, the defendant or defendant's attorney shall be entitled to review that documentation immediately before that trial.

According to the Committee Notes for the 2009 amendment of Rule 6.445, the committee noted that the different types of speed measuring devices included:

• airplane with stopwatch
• VACAR;
• radar;
• laser; and
• pace car.

Speeding Violations in Florida

Florida law provides for a variety of different speeding violations in Florida including:

• 316.183(2), FS - Speeding – Work Zone (if construction personnel are present, operating equipment on road, or immediately adjacent to road then double the fine – MUST SPECIFY WORKERS PRESENT)
• 316.187(1), FS - Speeding – within a zone posted for any electronic or manual toll collection facility (speeding fines may be doubled when a sign is erected – MUST SPECIFY – TOLL FACILITY – SIGN POSTED – DOUBLE FINE)
  • 316.187(1), FS - Speeding – State Posted
  • 316.187(2)(a), FS - Speeding 70 Interstate Speeding
  • 316.187(2)(b), FS - Speeding - 65 Highway/Turnpike
  • 316.189(1); FS - Speeding – Municipal roads
  • 316.189(2), FS - Speeding – County roads
  • 316.1895(10), FS - Speeding – School Zone
• 316.1926(2), FS - A person who exceeds the speed limit in excess of 50 mph or more in violation of one of the following infractions: FS 316.183(2) (posted speeds), FS 316.187 (state speed zones); or, FS 316.189 (municipal and county speeds).

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Florida Speeding Ticket Resources

Most and Least Ticketed Types, Makes and Colors of Cars | CJ Pony Parts — Visit this website to view an infographic that incorporates statistics from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and other sources. The infographic provides general driving citation statistics as well as an overview of the most and least expensive states to get speeding tickets in. You can also learn about the most-ticketed car colors and the most and least ticketed makes and models.

A Few Bad Apples? Racial Bias in Policing — View the full text of a study published on July 12, 2017, that found "evidence of significant bunching in ticketed speeds below a jump in punishment for all drivers but significantly more for whites than for blacks and Hispanics" based on data from the Florida Highway Patrol. The data included the 2,614,119 citations written by the Florida Highway Patrol for the years 2005-2015, restricted to incidents in which speeding was the primary citation, no crash was involved, speed was between 0 and 40 over the limit, the posted speed limit was between 25 MPH and 75 MPH, race/ethnicity was not missing, race/ethnicity was white, black, or Hispanic, the officer was identifiable, and the officer had at least 100 tickets, and at least 20 for minorities and 20 for whites. The authors found that 25 percent of officers were biased against black and Hispanic drivers and rejected that this number was greater than 30 percent of officers.

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Find a Speeding Ticket Attorney in Florida

Did you recently receive a speeding ticket in South Florida? Make sure that you contact Meltzer & Bell, P.A. before you pay any fine. Meltzer & Bell, P.A. uses experienced traffic ticket lawyers in Florida to represent individuals in communities all over South Florida including St. Lucie County, Martin County, Broward County, Palm Beach County, and Miami-Dade County.

Call (561) 500-5000 or submit an online contact form to have our attorneys provide a complete evaluation of your case during a free initial consultation.

This article was last updated on Wednesday, March 28, 2018.